In the first chapter of Genesis[1] R. Simeon explains a great and magnificent
counsel of the Torah how man may be bound to the Supernal Holiness and
nevermore be separated from the Higher Sephiroth.

It is
necessary for man, in this connection, to conduct himself according to
time, that is, to know which Sephirah rules and to bind himself to it
and to perform the Tikkun associated with that ruling quality.

He begins with the night, the time when man sleeps on his bed. The
ruling force then is Night, the quality of Sovereignty[2],
but if he continues
to sleep, sleep is like death and the tree of death rules. What should
he do? He should anticipate, by preparing to bind himself according to
the secret holiness, namely, the secret of the quality of Sovereignty
in the aspect of its holiness. With this he should go to his bed, accepting
upon himself the complete yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven with the
intention of his heart. He should rise at midnight, wash his hands of
the Shell which has dominion over them[3], remove the evil from his flesh
and recite the benediction[4]. He should then make a Tikkun for the
Shekinah by studying the Torah, concerning which it is written: 'When
thou liest down[5] it shall watch over thee' - from the Outside Ones - 'and
when thou awakest it shall talk with thee' - and he will be bound to Her
and She to him. The form of his soul will ascend to the Garden of Eden
with the Shekinah who enters there to delight with the righteous and
with him in their company, for they all hearken to his voice. So that he
actually journeys with Her from death and sleep to the secret of Superal
Life and he is bound there, according to the secret of the Garden of
Eden, and the light of Beauty which shines upon the righteous in the
Garden of Eden begins to shine upon him. And so it is explained in the
section Terumah[6].

With the dawn of day he, too, begins to make ready to enter the
Synagogue, binding himself to the three Patriarchs. At the entrance to
the Synagogue he says: 'As for me[7], in the abundance of thy
lovingkindness will I come . . .' and he includes himself in the secret
of Beauty - for man embraces Lovingkindness, Power and Beauty and he
enters the Synagogue, which is Sovereignty[8]. When reciting this verse
he should think of the three Patriarchs: 'in the abundance of thy
lovingkindness' is Abraham[9]; 'I will bow toward[10] thy holy temple' is Isaac
(for 'bowing down' is from his side[11], namely, to bow
his full height
opposite the quality of judgment to be pushed aside[12] by it and then the
hour is pushed aside from before him so that the flow of divine pity is
drawn upon it from above to make it sweet); 'in the fear of thee[13]' is
Jacob, of whom it is written: 'how awful[14] is this place!' Behold, he has
embraced them[15] by means of thought, speech and action. For thought is the
intention we have mentioned, speech, the verse he recites, and action,
the deed of coming to Synagogue and bowing opposite His temple before
prayer. He stands in the Synagogue his open mouth the source of prayer
and union, so that Foundation[16], the source of the well, is open into
the well which is the Synagogue. And he makes a Tikkun for the Shekinah
as much as he is able by virtue of his concentration in prayer.

On his exit from the Synagogue he ascends to the secret of the Torah and
he binds himself to the Torah, according to the secret of the quality
of the day, and he conducts himself with the Torah during the whole day
until the time of the Afternoon Prayer, when he binds himself to Power.
For in the morning he was bound to Lovingkindness in his prayer, during
the day to Beauty with this Torah, and in the evening to Power. And all
this in the quality of day, that he comes to the Synagogue to make
the union according to the secret of Power in the same way as he did
with regard to the aspect of Lovingkindness. Between the two he binds
the Shekinah to him by virtue of his meal in which he does kindess to
'this poor thing[17],' as Hillel the Elder[18] used to say: 'The righteous
knoweth[19] the soul of his beast.' This should be his intention in eating
to do kindness to his animal soul and to bind it according to the secret
of food. After the time of the afternoon prayer has come and he has been
bound to Power he waits until the evening when Beauty descends to
Sovereignty. And, behold, he is with Her at the beginning of the night.
He binds himself to Her and enters the Synagogue with afore-mentioned
intention. And he binds himself below when Beauty comes to its lodging.
When he leaves the Synagogue he actually unites himself with Sovereignty
alone, according to the secret of accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of
Heaven.

This is his daily cycle in accord with the cycle of the Sephiroth, so
that he is attached, ever, to the dominating light[20]. This counsel is
chiefly contained in the opening section of Genesis and the rest of it
has been compiled from many places in the Zohar. And this is a
comprehensive method by which man can bind himself always to holiness
so that the crown of the Shekinah nevermore departs from his head.

the Shell which has dominion over them 'Further, when
men sleep on their beds at night-time and night spreads her wings over
the world, they are having a foretaste of death, and in consequence the
unclean spirit is let loose in the world, carrying pollution. In
particular it rests upon a man's hands and defiles them, so that when he
wakes up and his soul is restored to him, everything which he touches
with his hands is rendered unclean' (Zohar I, 53b).

in the section Terumah 'R. Eleazar and R. Abba entered
the house and rested a while. At midnight they got up to study the
Torah. Said R. Abba: 'Verily, now is the time of the Holy One's favor,
since we have often remarked that at the moment of midnight the Holy
One, blessed is He, goes in unto the righteous in the Garden of Eden
to have joyous fellowship with them. Blessed is he who is occupied with
the study of Torah at this time.'" (Zohar II 173b)

pushed aside A Kabbalistic interpretation of the
Talmudic saying: 'He who pushes his hour (i.e. who tries to force his
good fortune) will be pushed by his hour (i.e. will be dogged by
ill-fortune) and whoever is pushed by his hour his hour will be pushed
aside for him' (Ber. 64a). By accepting this quality of judgment man
sweetens its power.